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Dharmendra Pradhan met Speaker Om Birla.
New Delhi: On Wednesday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as the political showdown over the alleged NEET-UG 2026 leak escalated inside and outside Parliament. The meeting took place after the Centre had decided to discuss the matter in detail in Lok Sabha, while the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on the issue continued to build.
The statements came as Opposition activists on both sides pushed for Pradhan's resignation and called for answers on the alleged examination irregularities.
Reports said Pradhan met Speaker Om Birla in Parliament earlier today after the government notified the House that it was ready to discuss the alleged NEET paper leak in detail.
The Centre also told the Speaker to call an all-party meeting to determine the rules of debate, including the time and date.
When Lok Sabha reconvened after an earlier adjournment, the Speaker asked the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju (SEC) to introduce his statement. The request by the Speaker was interrupted by the Congress leader K.C. Venugopal when he said that the Opposition demands were not limited only to a debate, but also demanded the resignation of Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The Opposition has maintained that a parliamentary discussion alone is insufficient and has continued to seek Pradhan's resignation over the government's handling of the alleged NEET-UG irregularities.
The issue has repeatedly disrupted Parliament, with Opposition parties accusing the government of failing to protect the integrity of one of India's largest entrance examinations.
Outside Parliament, the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar became a turning point as an increasing number of people joined the March against education reforms and the resignation of the Union Education Minister.
We assume that the protest may evolve into a larger scale Pan India agitation, depending on the duration of protests and the reaction of the government in the next few days. But it might also continue to be a centered debate around NEET, education reforms and political accountability of Parliament in Delhi.
The protest further drew political issues upon the sit-in outside Jantar Mantar, where several student protesters had been taken to Delhi for the NEET-UG investigation. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged their own sit-in outside the PM’s house against the NEET-UG controversy and the response of the police against student protesters. The leaders, along with some Opposition MPs, were taken into custody by the Delhi Police and later released.
CJP protesters declined to come down from their sit-in unless the demands of the agitation have been met.
Opinion makers say that the entry of the senior Opposition leaders has turned the student’s agitation into a political issue. The protest has given scope to the Opposition to raise their agenda and to take on the government on a platform of “education and youth” issues.
